02/25/2006

Now That Darren McGavin's Dead. . .

The Night Stalker, A Christmas Story, The Martian Chronicles-- McGavin was always a welcome presence, one of the more underappreciated character actors out there.

For my money, one of my favorite McGavin roles is in an excellent 1990 made-for-HBO movie, By Dawn's Early Light. The story of an accidental nuclear war between the United States and the crumbling Soviet Union, it featured McGavin as the Secretary of the Interior who becomes President after the attack. Suffice it to say, he's a little unhinged. Anyway, great little war movie for anyone who's interested (plus, it's got Powers Boothe as a B-52 commander-- ya can't beat that, folks).